Who needs High Speed Fibre Connections?

Broadband has become much more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that count on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The amount of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase everyday.

Bewley Down Broadband Deals For October 2025

Connection Type	Availablity
FTTC / Fibre / Superfast Broadband	Yes
Cable / Virgin Media	Some Areas
ADSL / Broadband	Yes
4G	Yes

Working from home is commonplace as it saves people being stuck in commuter traffic, something that most of us wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to deal with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances turned on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company is able to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of approximately 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively higher than most broadband users.

While the current average UK broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), superfast broadband products deliver speeds of up to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks specifically Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre connectivity work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest internet product – the 100Mbps service from Virgin (it’s 200Mbps in some areas) – is delivered by a cable, or fibre-optic, broadband network. These cables are made of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the not too distant future.

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only available to people in a fibre-optic broadband locations. Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but as a result of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you inhabit a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast internet product is the best?

Among the UK’s quickest internet products is Virgin Media’s 152Mbps service. Virgin Media, which also offers 50Mbps broadband products as a bare minimum, is able to deliver such fast connections with the help of its superfast fibre-optic connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the aforementioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre optic network and feature headline speeds according to BT.

 

 

Alternatively, broadband products offering an up to 16Mbps (or thereabouts) connection are available from most providers. The arrival of these speeds has been facilitated by an upgrade of BT’s network with ADSL2+ technology, enabling the existing cabling to carry more data.

How do I get fibre optic connectivity?

Your initial step is to decide which high speed internet services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband

High speed internet enables you to make the most of all the music streaming available online. You will have the opportunity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their best shows on the Sky Now TV, together with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by high speed broadband means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of high speed broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and depend on things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Whether super fast internet connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super-fast internet .

However, if you are a heavy downloader or are one of the increasing number of consumers who prefer to catch up with TV programmes online, it makes sense to enrol for a high speed connectivity service – preferably fibre for the greatest service.

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower ADSL connectivity products. This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to opt for a standard ADSL connection.

Bewley Down – Other Areas

Furnace Green

Westfield

Shannochie

Kimmerston

Gowanbank

Clathy

Brook Street

Portree / Port Righ

Lottisham

Bradley